my initial question was: Why do people sometimes become more interested in something when they are told they cannot have it?
for my first round of research, I will explore the Psychology behind wanting something that is forbidden
As I researched many things, I found that there is one main reason psychological explanation for why people want something more when they are told they can’t have it. It is called psychological reactance. Psychological reactance happens when a person feels that their freedom or choices are being restricted or threatened (1) When this happens, people may feel frustrated and become more motivated to do the thing they are being told not to do. This is because they want to regain their freedom and feel like they are in control of their own decisions (2). For example, if a parent tells their teenager that they are not allowed to do something, the teenager might suddenly want to do it even more. It is not because the thing became more interesting, but because being told no, made it feel like their freedom was being taken away.
It also shows that reactance can involve both emotions and thoughts. People may feel annoyed or frustrated when someone tries to control their choices, and they may start thinking of reasons why they should be allowed to do what they want (3). This proves that telling someone they can’t have something can sometimes make them want it even more
Another psychological reason is curiosity. Curiosity is the desire to learn or understand something. When something is forbidden or kept away from us, we might become more curious about it because we do not have access to it. Researchers Christopher Hsee and Bowen Ruan studied how curiosity can motivate people to find out information, even when they expect that the results or experience of finding out might not be enjoyable. This showed that people sometimes choose to find something out even when there is no benefit (4). So, not being able to get something, makes us become more curious and want it more
This behaviour is often seen is teenagers. In a study about psychological reactance and children’s preferences, researchers found that teenagers sometimes preferred certain products more when their parents showed disapproval of them. But, younger children did not always react in the same way and were more likely to follow their parents’ preferences (5). This shows that being told no does not affect everyone equally, and age can change how people respond to restrictions.
Overall, my research shows that people may become more interested in forbidden things for different psychological reasons. It doesn’t happen to everyone, however, psychological reactance can make people want to regain their freedom and, curiosity can make them want to discover something they can’t access.
sources:
3-Reynolds-Tylus, T. (2019). Psychological reactance and persuasive health communication: A review of the literature. Frontiers in Communication, 4(56). https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2019.00056
4Hsiung, A., Poh, J.-H., Huettel, S. A., & Adcock, R. A. (2023). Curiosity evolves as information unfolds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(43). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301974120
5- Tandfonline. (2019). Taylor & Francis Online. Tandfonline.Com. https://www.tandfonline.com
Thank you for reading my Blog Post 3!